And a Merry Christmas from Laura~!

Merry Christmas~!

Merry Christmas to everyone out there, especially Laurene and Laura; Thom and Erica and the boys; Laurie and Diana; Lara and John; all the Muggleton and Shanahan family members out there; everybody at DV and ITVR; and especially to someone special who I'm missing pretty bad right about now.

"Bah, humbug!" No, that's too strong
'Cause it is my favorite holiday
But all this year's been a busy blur
Don't think I have the energy

To add to my already mad rush
Just 'cause it 'tis the season.
The perfect gift for me would be
Completions and connections left from

Last year, ski shop,
Encounter, most interesting.
Had his number but never the time
Most of '81 passed along those lines.

So deck those halls, trim those trees
Raise up cups of Christmas cheer,
I just need to catch my breath,
Christmas by myself this year.

Calendar picture, frozen landscape,
Chilled this room for twenty-four days,
Evergreens, sparkling snow
Get this winter over with!

Flashback to springtime, saw him again,
Would've been good to go for lunch,
Couldn't agree when we were both free,
We tried, we said we'd keep in touch.

Didn't, of course, 'til summertime,
Out to the beach to his boat could I join him?
No, this time it was me,
Sunburn in the third degree.

Now the calendar's just one page
And, of course, I am excited
Tonight's the night, I've set my mind
Not to do too much about it.

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.


[4x]

Party dashing through the snow
Of course I bundled up too tight
Last minute have-to-do's
A few cards a few calls
'Cause it's R-S-V-P
No thanks, no party lights
It's Christmas Eve, guttery laugh
Turned down all of my advice.

Last fall I had a night to myself,
Same guy called, halloween party,
Waited all night for him to show,
This time his car wouldn't go,

Forget it, it's cold, it's getting late,
Trudge on home to celebrate
In a quiet way, unwind
Doing Christmas right this time.

A&P has provided me
With the world's smallest turkey
Already in the oven, nice and hot
Oh damn! Guess what I forgot?

So on with the boots, back out in the snow
To the only all-night grocery,
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
In the line is that guy I've been chasing all year!

"I'm spending this one alone," he said.
"Need a break; this year's been crazy."
I said, "Me too, but why are you?
You mean you forgot cranberries too?"

Then suddenly we laughed and laughed
Caught on to what was happening
That Christmas magic's brought this tale
To a very happy ending! "

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Couldn't miss this one this year!
[4x]

Yeah, this isn't a surprise.

The Pork Chop Express.


Which B-Movie Badass Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Toho goes out with a bang.

So, Godzilla: Final Wars.

As I mentioned previously, Toho decided to send Godzilla off in a big way, and they brought in Ryuhei Kitamura, the director of the flashy action films Versus and Azumi to do so. Well, I just finished watching it, and well, flashy is certainly a word for G:FW.

The basic plot, such as it is, is that giant monsters start appearing all over the world and the Earth Defense Force is powerless to do anything about it until a UFO appears and captures all the monsters. The aliens claim to have come in peace(though anyone who's seen any of the alien-related G-movies knows better) and want to tell us that there's a comet on its way to hit us. Actually, they're space vampires of a sort, here to use us as cattle. Oh, and the EDF has a bunch of mutants who like to fight as part of their force. Turns out that the aliens control both the giant monsters AND the mutants, and wreak havoc on the world before the few remaining normal people get the brilliant idea to wake Godzilla to save us all. Much mayhem ensues.

This movie was completely and utterly fucking insane. It's also probably the best G-movie since Destroy All Monsters, and possibly even since the original no-Raymond-Burr 1954 Gojira. Kitamura serves up a entertaining stew made up of elements of Independance Day, The Matrix, Star Wars, and even his own hyperkinetic action films. The performances are pretty decent for a G-film, particularly Don Frye, a UFC fighter making his screen debut as the iron-jawed captain of the flying battleship that takes on the aliens, and Kazuki Kitamura, who absolutely destroys the scenery with his over the top alien commander. There's kung fu, wire fu, rubber monster fu, and some great and completely ridiculous action sequences. The big G gets to kick the crap out of GINO, an approximation of the aberration that was the American Godzilla. Most of all, there's a sense of fun that's been missing from the series of late, almost as if Kitamura knows he's making a cheesy kaiju film and is making the best of it. Keith Emerson contributes a thrilling, entertaining score, and the opening credit sequence is a spectacular two and a half minute history of kaiju films from 1954 to the present.

If you like the Big G, then you should definitely get this flick. If not, you should still check it out. Highest recommendation.

An interesting irony in the video store.

Guy comes up tonight to rent two movies.

The first movie? The latest installment of that wonderful direct-to-video saga known as "Left Behind".

The second movie? An porn parody of the Sopranos, called The Sopornos, appropriately enough.

I love video retail.

I always say that I'm 34 going on 12, but apparently not...

You Are 24 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

I don't think so, but okay...

Your 2005 Song Is

Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz "Love forever love is free. Let's turn forever you and me." In 2005, you were loving life and feeling no pain.

What Hit Song of 2005 Are You?

Another LJ meme swiped from Thom.

1. What did you want to be when you grew up?

Roger Ebert. Seriously, I couldn't imagine a better job in the world than getting paid to watch movies.

2. Did you follow through? If not, what happened?

Crashed out of college, and I'm not that great a writer.

3. Is your life turning out the way you thought it would when you were a kid?If not, is it better or worse?

Definitely not, but things are always interesting.

4. Paradoxes aside, if you could time-travel back to when you were 10 years old, what would you tell your 10-year-old self?

Stop fucking watching cartoons and study. Also, don't start eating so goddamned much in two to three years. And don't borrow Joey Maynard's bicycle on Memorial Day 1986.

5. Do you think the child you were, would like the adult you've become?

Probably not, he'd think that I was a dull old bastard.

I'm gonna post.

Really.

Just not tonight, at the end of a sixteen hour day.

2005 Survey, swiped from Thom's blog.

1) Was 2005 a good year for you?
Some good, some bad. Things being what they are, it's been a year. That's for sure.

2) What was your favorite moment of the year?
The 10th Anniversary Hatebreed Show at Toad's, by far.

3) What was your least favorite moment of the year?
Getting laid off in May and not being able to get a gig all summer.

4) Where were you when 2005 began?
Home.

5) Who were you with?
No one. Laura and Laurene were asleep.

6) Where will you be when 2005 ends?
Just home from work.

7) Who will you be with when 2005 ends?
See above.

8) Did you keep your new years resolution of 2005?
Resolution? What's that?

9) Do you have a new years resolution for 2006?
Lose weight.

10) Did you fall in love in 2005?
Next question.

15) Did you breakup with anyone in 2005?
NEXT QUESTION, I said.

16) Did you make any new friends in 2005?
Yup.

17) Who are your favorite new friends?
Will and Carolyn.

18) What was your favorite month of 2005?
November.

19) Did you travel outside of the US in 2005?
No.

20) How many different countries did you travel to in 2005?
Just this one.

21) Did you lose anybody close to you in 2005?
Nope.

22) Did you miss anybody in the past year?
Not particularly.

23) What was your favorite movie that you saw in 2005?
The Beat That My Heart Skipped.

24) What was your favorite song from 2005?
Golddigger, Kanye West

25) What was your favorite record from 2005?
Morrissey, Live At Earl's Court

26) How many concerts did you see in 2005?
2.

27) Did you have a favorite concert in 2005?
Hatebreed

28) Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2005?
Nope.

29) Did you do a lot of drugs in 2005?
Nothing you can't get in Walgreens or CVS.

30) Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year?
Yeah, like I'm gonna answer THAT one in a public post.

33) What was the worst lie someone told you in 2005?
Next Question.

34) Did you treat somebody badly in 2005?
One or two.

35) Did somebody treat you badly in 2005?
Only my ex-employers.

36) How much money did you spend in 2005?
How much did I earn?

37) What was your proudest moment of 2005?
Probably nothing that I can talk about here.

39) If you could go back in time to any moment of 2005 and change something, what would it be?
Not getting laid off would be a good start.

40) What are your plans for 2006?
Second verse, same as the first.